‘Selfie-fever’ costs a La Plata dolphin its life in Argentina

The ‘selfie-fever’ has taken a young dolphin’s life in Argentina. No one saw the misery of the dolphin, which was scooped out of the sea off the coast of Argentina.

The dolphin was from the La Plata – also known as the Franciscana – variety, found off the coasts of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

It is considered a “vulnerable” species because there are only about 30,000 left in the world.

Beachgoers took it from the sea for posing with the dolphin. People gathered around the small animal on the beach resort at Santa Teresita in Argentina after one man picked it up. What caused the dolphin’s death was overheating while it stayed out of the water.

It was still being passed around by the beachgoers after its death and was later left on the sand.

The Argentine Wildlife Foundation later issued a reminder to the public of the mammal’s extreme vulnerability, hoping it will prevent such a sad event again.

“The Franciscana, like other species, cannot remain for much time outside of the water, it has thick fatty skin which gives it heat and means that taking it out of the water rapidly causes it to dehydrate and die,” it said in a statement.

Sources added, “This occasion serves to inform the public about the urgent necessity to return these dolphins to the sea as soon as possible if they find them on the shore. It is fundamental that people help to rescue these animals, because every Franciscana counts now.”

Pablo Bordino, a professor in Biology and a postgraduate in Behavioural Ecology and Coastal Management, is leading a project on studying the human impact on La Plata dolphins and he has stated on a site, “The incidental gillnet killing of tens of thousands of dolphins over the last 30 years has undoubtedly significantly reduced the total population. The real impact of these captures remains unknown, mainly because of the uncertainties about existing stock. As might be expected, more than half of the recorded catches are females and less-experienced young dolphins. La Plata dolphin can live to be just over 20, but most live to only 12 years.”

The Franciscana dolphin, which is also called the La Plata River dolphin, is one of the rarest dolphins in South America.Due to this uniqueness, there is little known about it. It ranges through the La Plata River, which moves through Brazil and Argentina. This dolphin is perhaps the cetacean most affected by human activities in this area. It is estimated that at least 500 dolphins are accidentally caught every year during fishing operations along the Argentinean coast.